Shoe and method of manufacturing the same



1,623,550 Aprll 9 A. R. LES I -|IN SHOE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE- SAME- I Filed May 8, 1923 my. 4 v INVENTYORA I flex {$174M [es/1112 5 a ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 5, 1927.

" v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SHOE AND METHOD OE MANUFACTURING THE SAME.

Application filed May 8, 1923. Serial No. 637,519.

My invention relates to a new shoe and v the method of manufacturing the same.

Shoes of ordinary design as used in com mon practice commonly employ a welt. This causes the shoe to be of too stiff a character for some uses, particularly in athletics. A shoe for athletic use must not be stiff. It must be elastic or give to exceptional strains without giving to the point of breaking. A primary purpose of my invention is to provide an athletic shoe without a Welt, which will not be stiff, but which will yield to exceptional strains. without breaking the stitching holding the parts together.

There have been shoes provided without a welt heretofore, and an objection to these obtains in that they are not designed to protect the stitching which holds the upper to the sole parts, so that the heat and perspiration of the foot results in shortening the life of said stitching, so that their length of service is rendered too short" for their economical use. A primary object of my invention is to overcome this difficulty.

Another objection obtains to said shoes having no welt in that they quickly lose their shape, and a primary object of my invention is to provide a weltless shoe which will have all the advantages of weltless shoes as heretofore designed, and will, at the same time, preserve their shapeliness.

More particularly, a primary object of my invention is to provide a shoe with an upper, a slip sole and an insole so related that the lateral edge of the insole will function as a spring to relieve and distribute the stresses imparted to the stitching of the upper, and, finally, a fundamental object of my invention is to provide a new method of manufacturing a shoe which will greatly simplify the process and reduce the manufacturing cost,all of the operations or steps being performable by unskilled labor with the exception of the cutting operation.

"The above mentioned general objects of my invention, together with others inherent in the same, are attained by the process described below and by the shoe illustrated in the following drawings, the same being merely a preferred exemplary form of em bodiment of my invention, throughout which drawings like reference numerals indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the upper, having the flesh side of the leather turned out, disposed upon the slip sole with its grain side disposed on the outside, the

operation of securing said upper to said slip sole by means of two linesof stitching being completed; y; I

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of the upper and insole shown in Fig. 1 turned inside out, i. e., with the grain side of the upper now disposed on the outside, and the flesh side of the slip sole now on the outside, with a fragment of the upper broken away to show the disposition of the edge oftheupper and the stitching, as the-same is disposed inside the shoe;

Fig. 3' is a view on line 3, 3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a view in cross section of the toe portion of a completed shoe embodying iny invention.

The parts which are employed in making I up my shoe are first all cut to the exact size desired. The upper, 5, (said upper being composed of two quarters, the toe part, a'

backstay, and a counter), is turned inside out, 1. e. with the -flesh side of the leather outermost. The slip sole 6 is preferably marked for lines of stitches 7 and 8, and is' next applied, having the grain side outermost,to the upper 5, the two lines of stitches 7 and 8 being preferably employed for attaching the slip sole 6, (see Fig. 1). I employ in the slip sole leather, which is characterized by its flexibility and is not of a grade or character to withstand wear such as is employed in the out sole 12; Thereupon, the upper is turned back over the slip sole, so that we have thearrangement as shown in Fig. 2. This results in the grain, or dressed, side of the leather of the upper being outermost, and the flesh side of the slip sole now becomes outermost, (see Fig;

2).. The two rows of stitches on the inside of the shoe are manifest through the opening formed in the upper by breaking away a portion thereof. The section shown in Fig. 3 illustrates the reversing of these parts,the upper indicated in dotted line is turned to the position occupied bythe full lines.

The next step is to insert the insole 9 and sew this to the slip sole by means of a row of stitches 10., The line of stitches 10 is caused to run along the edge of the upper and not through the upper. That portion 11 of the insole 9, extending from the line of stitches 10 to the edge of the insole, forms I a spring, as will be manifest from Fig. 4,

The mode of operation of a shoe embody-' ing my invention is manifest from the'drawings and'the description heretofore given. That portion 11 of the insole, which extends from the line of stitches 10 to the edge of said insole, operates as a spring and distributes any strain imposed upon the upper, when the wear is making a jump, 'overa considerable area of the shoe, andprevents the a stress of any such strain taking afdirection directly upwardly, so thatthere is not the tendency to, pull the upper apart fromthe slip sole. The stress put upon the lines of stitches 7a nd 8 is caused to be laterally directed, i. 6., in a direction whichthe'said lines of, stitches are best able to resist. The

. line of stitches 10 of the insole provides the sprin portion 11, so that insole 9 is able to distri ute the stresses and also, by maintain-v ing the insole in its proper position, the shape of the shoe is maintained by the edge of the insole 9 holding the bottom of upper .5 in proper position. It is manifest that. the lines-of stitches? and 8, which have the important duty of holding the upper to the slip sole, are notdirectly exposed to perspirationaind wear, and thereby the life of the said parts is greatly prolonged. The line of stitches 10 is preferably inserted along the inner edge of the'upper 5 and not through the bot-tom portion of the upper 5, so t-hatthespring action of the portion '11 oi -the insole is increased, and in making repairs'may be readily removed without interfering with the remaining part of the shoe. Likewise, the line of stitches 13,

-which holds theout sole 12, is caused to ex- *tend through the slip sole only, so that a new out so e may be readily supplied when continued wear makes the same advisable.

' that t Obviously, the supplying of said out sole in no wise interferes with the line of stitches which hold the remaining parts of the shoe together. I The comfort to to be reatlyincreased by reason of the fact Tie foot of the wearer does not have any sharp localized stressestoendure. Also,

the manufacturing cost is greatly reduced,-

since all the operations are of the simplest character, except the cutting out of the parts,

Y which cutting operation must preferably be i done byoneskilled in the art. The size and V the wearer has been found shape ofthe shoe is dependent upon the proper cutting of the parts, and is not dependent, as has been the case heretofore, upon being fitted to a shoe last. The shoe last is preferably employed only when the out sole- 12 is applied to the slip sole.

Obviously, changes may be made in the form, dimensions, and arrangement of the arts. of my invention without departing rom the principle thereof, the above setting forth only a preferred form of embodiment.

I claim v v 1. The method of making a shoe by cuttingan upper and slip sole'to exact size of the last; marking the slip sole for the precise 2. A shoe embodying a slip sole; an upper sewed to said slip sole by stitches passing through the upper and through the slip sole; and an insole sewed down by a line of stitches disposed inside of the stitches which hold the upper and the slip sole and in spaced relation to the lateral edge of said insole, whereby the lateral edge portion of said insole is'cau'sed to function as a protection for said first mentioned stitches, as well as a spring and shape maintaining means'for the upper;

3. In-the method of making a shoe, the steps of cutting an upper, and slip sole to exact size of the last, marking the slip sole for the precise location thereon of the edge of the upper; sewing the upper to the slip sole b stitches passing through the upper and t rough the slip sole; turning these parts inside out; inserting an insole; and stitching the same to the slip sole'by a line of stitches disposed inwardly of the line of stitches holding the slip sole and upper together. I ."4. A shoe. embodying a slip sole; an upper sewed to said slip sole by stitches passing through the upper and through the slip sole;' an insole sewed down by a line of stitches in spaced relation to the lateral edge of'said insole, said insole line of stitches lying inside the stitches by which the upper is secured-to the slip sole; and an out sole secured to said slip sole.

In witness'wher'eof, I

. hereunto subscribe my name this 30th' day of April, A. 1 923.

ALEX RALPH LESHIN. 

